Preview

Befriending

The Welcoming supports newcomers to Edinburgh, providing a wide range of classes and activities, 6 days a week, 50 weeks of the year.
• English language classes at all levels
• Advice and information on everyday living in Edinburgh
• Weekly Conversation Cafe
• Employability support
• Visits out and about to get to know Edinburgh and meet new people
• Home energy advice - find out how to keep cosy at an affordable price at home
• Digital skills
• Befriending opportunities
• Creative arts and health and well-being activities
Everything is free of charge and drop in! Visit www.thewelcoming.org to access the timetable and find latest details of what's on.

"spaces and facilities for artists to make and develop work"
- Residencies, professional development, training and networking opportunities to support artists in their careers.
- Our sculpture courses offer a route to understanding artistic processes and contemporary approaches.
- Artists can benefit from access to Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s specialist facilities and international networks

"St Paul's & St George's (Ps & Gs) is a Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) church with a congregation of around 1000. Based in the centre of Edinburgh, the church is made up of people from all over the city and beyond, and benefits from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and personalities.
More importantly though, we are a group of people connected by a desire to build relationships with each other and with God, to explore what life's about, and how faith can impact on who we are and what we do. Our aim is to build up a lively, culturally-relevant and Christ-centred church, worshipping and serving here in the centre of Edinburgh."
Fun activities (including excursions, followed by meal) on first Saturday of each month - contact Wendy.

"6VT opened 18 years ago to provide a safe social space for people aged 15 and over in Edinburgh. It now provides a drop-in service which is open three nights a week, providing a range of personal development support, educational workshops, advice and information. Over the years, 6VT’s areas of expertise have grown and it now also provides housing services and an integrated community support service for young people facing the prospect of foster care, residential care or being housed in a secure unit."
young people, young parents support and friendship; employment support; foodstore, meals; crisis support.

"Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees is a project which seeks to co-ordinate and promote action by faith communities in Scotland to support asylum seekers and refugees...In September 2015 the Church of Scotland resolved to establish a refugee co-ordination project as a response to the situation and a way to harness the outpouring of goodwill and desire to act which was being expressed by many congregations across the country. The Church of Scotland then approached the other major faith groups in Scotland, who have agreed to share in the work of co-ordination and support.
We are working with Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Interfaith groups, and through our commitment to each other seek to demonstrate that building on common values by acting in partnership we have our own story to tell of hospitality and welcome."
Edinburgh Weekend Club (Once a month, across the city; fun events and activities; meeting people, making friends; practice English; learn about Scottish culture & history; day trips)
The “Edinburgh Weekend Club” is a new joint-faith initiative run by Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees. With the aim of enabling New Scots to become active members of society through the building of strong social relationships, as well as combating social isolation experienced particularly over the weekend, a joint-faith group of volunteers organises monthly weekend events. Participants have the opportunity to build friendships, improve their English in a relaxed and welcoming environment, as well as learn more about Scottish culture and history.
Past events have included a Burns Night and Ceilidh, Dalkeith Country Park fun, and a visit to Edinburgh Castle. All gatherings and events are only possible through the generous help of our local Edinburgh community. If your local faith community would like to contribute to such an event in future or if you would like to find out more please get in touch with Sabine Chalmers schalmers@churchofscotland.org.uk. You might want to offer us a venue space or even make a financial contribution towards this project of welcome.
If you are seeking sanctuary in Edinburgh and would like to participate please contact Sabine for information on the next event.

"Positive Help is a registered Scottish charity which offers free volunteer-led practical help to those affected by HIV and Hepatitis C in Edinburgh and the Lothians."
"Our charitable objectives are: “to relieve the suffering and distress of adults and children in Edinburgh and the Lothian area who are infected or affected by HIV/ AIDS and Hepatitis C and their families, friends and carers”.
Without the support of our dedicated volunteers and our generous donors, we simply could not provide our range of life-changing services."
"Positive Help offers four free services to support those affected by HIV and Hepatitis C in the Edinburgh area:
Supportive Transport service
Home Support service
Children & Young People’s Befriending service
Study Buddies service (formerly homework club)
Our services are focused on helping people with HIV or Hepatitis C to live independently and have control over their lives."

[Spring 2017] "Since we began our work for refugees in Edinburgh, with the support of, and information from, the team at The Welcoming organisation, we have been able to supply electric heaters, cooking pots, tea pots and duvets and covers, pillows and pillowcases.
We still have more to supply and hope to have completed what is needed by the beginning of March.
The next stage of our project is to take groups of refugees on Edinburgh tour buses to see the city and then bring them back to St Giles’ for food and to socialise with us and to practise their conversational English. This will need more funds and we applied to Police Scotland’s fund to counteract Islamophobia."

"What does it mean to belong? Where do you belong? When do you belong?
As women who both fled home as children, we’ve spent many hours talking about our early experiences of flight, journey and assimilation. We’re interested in using those experiences to draw parallels between journeys like ours and the journeys we all take.
The Belonging Project is a series of creative writing workshops and readings that considers journeys, what we carry with us (and what we leave behind), how we start anew and what it means to belong, alongside similar stories and experiences of refugees and migrants.
Through The Belonging Project, we hope to inspire you to remember and reconsider your own stories, from journeys as monumental as moving country to the daily act of leaving the house. We want to know where, whether and when you’ve come to belong.
Here, we hope you’ll engage with the journeys of others, and share your own."